The Clock on the Mantle
by Tintastic01
Summary: What will happen when Riley Chantley and her lifelong friend Cecilia Green get sucked back in time meet face to face with the famous reporter that they learned so much about in their textbooks at school? Follow Riley, Celia, Tintin, and Captain Haddock as they embark on a great adventure.
1. Chapter 1

The Clock on the Mantle

Chapter one: Ugh…Belgium

Riley Chantley tucked a strand of platinum blonde hair behind her ear as she blankly stared out the window of the plane currently taking her to the boring Brussels Belgium. Why the school board made her school do an entire unit on Belgium was completely unknown to her. She felt a light tap on her arm. She was snapped out of her trance and turned to face her lifelong friend Cecilia Green who was currently attempting to balance a piece of gum on the tip of her tongue.

"Celia, what are you doing?" Riley asked her. Slowly and tediously, Celia turned her head, desperate not to drop the gum she had so carefully balanced on her tongue.

"I fi-ally di-it!" she said wither tongue still stiffly sticking from her lips. Riley shook her head in amusement.

"You're 'gonna drop that on the filthy floor and I'm 'gonna laugh when you do." She said chuckling as her friend carefully pulled her tongue back into her mouth. Just then Ms. Prudence, an aged unmarried woman in her late forties, gave them both a glare as she walked down the plane cabin aisle. She stopped at their seats.

"Girls," She said sharply. Riley and Celia looked at each other like a couple of deer in headlights, then turned their attention back to Ms. Prudence, who had her arms crossed angrily and was impatiently tapping her foot on the cabin floor.

"Yes Ms. Prudence?" They asked together in the same, cautious voice. Ms. Prudence took in a sharp breath before speaking again.

"You _will not_ be a problem on this trip, correct?" She said, annunciating every syllable with purpose. Riley looked to Celia, who was frozen stiff, obviously locked under the spell of Ms. Prudence's evil, witch-like eyes.

' _Great, you're a huge help Celia'_ Riley thought sarcastically. "Consider us nearly invisible." Said Riley, grabbing Celia's arm as if to pull her back to reality.

"Mhm." Ms. Prudence mumbled sourly in disbelief. "Let me be perfectly clear with you ladies," Riley and Celia's heart rate began to rise as the old hag leaned closer. "If I catch you in a _single_ act of foolishness, your field-trip privileges will be revoked and you will be sentenced to summer school. _Am. I. Clear?"_ With every word spoken, Riley and Celia flinched slightly, blinking each time as if she would disappear. Once again, Riley knew that Celia would be of no assistance, seeing as she has a tendency to clam up in these situations.

"Crystal." Replied Riley, short and punctually, not once breaking eye contact with the evil crab-apple of a woman. Ms. Prudence leaned away from them and eased from the icy stare she had locked on them. She uncrossed her arms and continued moving down the aisle, hitting a pair of students making out in the seat in front of them with a rolled up magazine yelling "Break it up!" in her sharp somewhat British accent. When she sat down at her seat, Riley and Celia released the breath they had subconsciously been holding in as a sigh and leaned back on their seats.

"Celia, you need to work on your 'scardie-cat factor'. You're not very useful when someone's yelling at you." Riley said, turning her body to face her.

"Sorry, I just d-don't like it w-when people y-yell at me. It m-makes me n-nervous." She stammered.

"I know, I know. I guess that's why you need to keep me around." Riley said, smiling while returning her attention back to the window. Celia shrugged and continued playing around with her gum. Riley slowly drifted back into her original train of thought. What were they even going to do in Belgium? Just walk around and tour? _'Doesn't sound like a practical reason to drag the entire junior class of our high school halfway across the world to me.'_ Thought Riley.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen," Riley was pulled out of her thoughts at the voice of the flight attendant at the front of the plane. She craned her head to get a better view over the rows of seats in front of her. "Please, at this time, turn off all electronic devices and buckle your seatbelts firmly around your waste. Please, no walking around the cabin until the captain turns off the fasten seatbelt sign in the overhead bar. Thank you and enjoy your flight."

Riley began to tune her out as she repeated the statement in French…then Spanish…then Swedish. As she spoke, Riley's eyes began to droop. She hadn't noticed her eyes were closed until Celia elbowed her that they were taking off.

"That's cool, Celia, just…" she yawned, "wake me up when we get there." Riley continued. She closed her eyes and snuggled her face into her seat.

"Sure thing, Riles." Celia replied as she turned outwards to talk to the boy across from her. As the plane buzzed, Riley was lulled into a deep sleep.

XXX

"Riles," Came a faint, familiar voice in Riley's ear. "Riley! Wake up! We're here!" Celia's excited voice came louder. Riley blinked, letting her eyes adjust. As she sat up, a sharp pain shot up her back and neck. Her hand flew to her neck to try to soothe the pain through rubbing.

"Celia, I don't understand why you are so excited about going to…Belgium." Riley said, cracking her back and neck.

"Yeah, and I can't believe that you slept in the same position for about nine hours." Celia shot back in response, crossing her arms and smirking.

"OK, OK, true." Riley said, her arms going up in surrender. Their attention was drawn to the front when Ms. Prudence stood from her seat. The whole junior class seemed to hold their breath in anticipation. She glared knives at all of them, then unexpectedly, she yelled "California State High School Junior Class!" In her shrill, British cackle of a voice. In complete unison, all of the students from the high school stood up from their seats, standing as straight as boards, fearing that Ms. Prudence would come to yell or straighten them out. "WALK!" She yelled from the front of the plane. Riley and Celia grabbed their backpacks from under the seat and began to exit the plane with the other kids. They walked out of the terminal and into the congested airport, following close behind Ms. Prudence and her big mouth. When they got out of the airport, a tour bus was already waiting outside.

Riley and Celia made their way through the bus to the back window seat and sat down. Celia peered excitedly out the window.

"Celia, it's just like that trip to New York, except on the other side of the sea. Chill!" Riley exclaimed, somewhat surprised that she was _this_ energetic, more energetic than usual that is.

"I know, I know, it's just…I heard rumors from some other kids that our first stop on the tour is-"

"Lunch!?" Riley finished Celia's sentence, her eyes igniting with hope.

"Um…no." Celia finished, her expression flattening faster than a frozen diet coca- cola. "We are going to some old creepy mansion for our first stop!" She said, her face regaining its former excitement.

"Who cares about an old creepy mansion? We have tons of those back home." Riley said, slightly less excited.

"Oh, but Riles, it's so much cooler than that! This mansion is where that guy we learned about in Ms. Prudence's class, oh what was his name…?"

"Yeah, like I would know, Ceels." Riley said, no interest returning to her face.

"His name was Tintin." A lady's voice rang like bells in Riley and Celia's ears. They jerked their heads towards the voice with a slightly Scottish accent. The voice came from a young looking woman about 30 years old. She had shoulder length black hair tucked behind her ears and bluish-greenish eyes that reflected the color of the sea.

"Hi, I'm Lillian Haddock." She stuck her hand out for them to shake. Celia and Riley shook it in turn.

"How do you know?" Riley asked with a quizzical face as Celia shoved her with her elbow, as if to say _'that's rude!'_

"I know because I work as a tour guide there, and I'm also the old owner's granddaughter. Ever heard of Caption Archibald Haddock?" Celia and Riley's mouths dropped. They had learned about the old sea hag that had gone on adventures with the famous Tintin, but they never expected to see a living, breathing relative. "Well, I must get to my post at the microphone. See you ladies later." She said, waiving to them as she walked to the front of the bus.

As the bus lurched forward onto the road the same voice came over the intercom, pointing out different places of interest. It didn't matter to Riley though. She was too hypnotized, lost in the murky fog of the past. Her hand subconsciously went to her back, running her fingers over the scars that were unfairly placed there.

She remembered the stinging pain that she had endured, and the smell of alcohol could almost still burn her nose. She was brought out of her deep trance when the bus screeched to a stop in front of a gargantuan, old, rustic mansion. On the front gate read, "Marlinspike Hall".

 **A/N:**

 **I decided to put the author's note at the bottom since usually people like to read the story first, listen to the author talk after. Usually. I know this chapter doesn't have a ton of action, and it only MENTIONS Tintin and Haddock, but don't worry my friends! They will show up in chapter two! This is the first fanfic I have ever written, and I hope I'm doing it right (at least…I think I am), but if I did something wrong or something is out of place, or you have constructive criticism in general, it is welcome with open arms! Also, if you have any comments, review. I would love to hear how you liked it (or if you didn't, that's okay too.) I will hopefully have the next chapter up by New Years. Until then!**

 **Disclaimer: I think we all know I don't own Tintin, but I'm just 'gonna add this for fun. I don't own Tintin, Haddock, Snowy, Castifiore, or Marlinspike Hall. But the other stuff came from my creative brain juices.**


	2. Chapter Two: Tick

Chapter Two: _Tick_

"Welcome to Marlinspike Hall." Said Lillian, the tour guide, as she led the junior class through the grand entrance of the mansion. The students marveled at the huge house as they flooded through the doors. Celia and Riley stayed towards the back of the group, and were glad not to have to hear Ms. Prudence's shrieking voice anymore. The house smelled stale, and of old tobacco. They gathered together in the front of the grand marble staircase.

"The owner of this house was an old sea captain, and he shared it with a famous boy reporter that I'm sure you've all learned about, Tintin." Said Lillian. The whole class groaned in remembering the endless reading from textbooks of Tintin, the boy reporter. It seemed like the whole year so far had surrounded him. "Follow me." Said Lillian, as she coaxed them up the grand staircase.

As they walked up the staircase, they noticed that the walls were lined with paintings of men with black hair and long black beards, such as the ones from the photos of the sea captain from the textbooks they read. They finally reached a landing in the staircase and stopped before continuing to a doorway.

"The next room you will see if on your left. It was the room of Tintin, who shared the house with the owner, Captain Archibald Haddock. Some of his newspapers are even hung on the walls." Explained Lillian.

The students flocked over to the velvet rope before she could even finish her statement. An eruption of 'oohs' and 'ahs' came from the students as they stuck their heads through the doorway to see the room in full. Riley and Celia tried to push their way through their classmates, but, it was no use. They were more clumped together than a wall of concrete. "All right ladies and gentlemen, come along this way." Lillian said as she began walking further down the hallway.

As the class began to dissipate from the roped-off doorway, Riley walked up to it to get a better look, Celia trailing behind her. Riley grabbed the rope and leaned her head into the doorframe to peak at the room, such as a mouse would peak outside of his hole in the wall.

"Hey Riles?" Said Celia, looking at their class as it began to walk further away. "I think we should catch up with the class because they are-RILES!" Celia whisper shouted, as she noticed that Riley had jumped the velvet rope and was now inside of the room. Riley put a finger up to her lips to tell Celia to quiet down, for someone might hear.

"C'mon, Celia, I just want to get a better look at the newspapers. And nobody even cares about us anyways." Riley said in a hushed voice.

"Okay, maybe just for a minute." Said Celia, as she looked around cautiously. "But, if we get yelled at by Ms. Prudence, I'm blaming it on you!" She continued. Celia crossed over the rope and joined Riley at her side. She tried to find what Riley's eyes were focused on, but knowing Riley, she was probably just staring off into space again.

"Hey, Celia, check out this old clock!" Said Riley, racing to the other side of the room. In front of her was a fireplace, with an old clock on the mantle stopped at 12:00. Riley checked the watch on her wrist. Seeing as it was 4:00 in the afternoon, it obviously didn't work anymore. Riley tapped at the glass, trying to get the second hand to budge.

"It's broken, Riles. It's probably been broken for, like, 50 years." Celia said, turning her attention away from the clock and out the window. Riley knew it was broken, but something about it made her want to keep messing with it. It mesmerized her. It put her under a trance. She ran her fingers along the rusted metal encrusting along the clock. As her fingers went along the clock, they stopped on a little metal button on the front. ' _Maybe this is what changes the time.'_ She thought.

"What are you looking at Riles?" Asked Celia, now standing directly next to her.

"Oh, I was just staring at the button on the clock. I think it makes the hands move." She replied, attempting to push the button in.

"Riles, I told you, it's no use. The button is rusted through! It's not gonna push in." Celia said as Riley continued to work on the button. After all of the effort she could input, and an almost broken thumb, the button shot inward. As Riley removed her thumb, the button came up with it. Riley looked at the hands. None of the hands had moved. _'I guess Celia was right, it is broken.'_ She thought to herself. She turned to go and join Celia, who was again by the window. She looked out over the grounds.

"It really is a beautiful place." Said Celia, gazing at the garden below the window.

"Yeah, reminds me of the White House." Said Riley, sitting down on the bench next to the window. They were both silent for a moment, which brought an unusual sound to the attention of Riley.

 _Tick._

Riley looked around the room for the source of the sound.

 _Tick._

"Hey Celia, do you hear that?"

 _Tick. Tick._

"Hear what?" She replied nonchalantly.

 _Tick. Tick. Tick._

"Shh! Listen…" Riley said, rising from the bench. She moved around the room, attempting to locate the noise.

"I-I think I hear it." Said Celia in a shouted whisper. The girls padded closer and closer to the fireplace. Riley cupped her hand to her ear in attempt to amplify the sound. As she walked toward the fireplace, the ticking got louder and louder.

' _Wait a second…'_ Thought Riley. ' _Could it be?'_ She glanced up at the clock on the mantle. Sure enough, the second hand was going around and around on the clock face.

"No freaking way!" Gasped Celia in astonishment at noticing the clock.

"I told you it still worked!" Said Riley in a teasing tone. "It just needed some tender loving-" Her sentence was cut short. The clock began to glow a bright red light on them. Celia's mouth dropped.

"What the heck is it doing now?!" Celia half-shouted.

"Like I'm supposed to know!" Riley replied, arms flailing frantically. The glow grew brighter and brighter until it grew almost blinding. Riley and Celia locked hands and blocked their eyes. They felt the ground give out beneath them. They began to fall through nothingness. They fell faster and faster, until they blacked out.

 **A/N**

 **Well…it's not New Years. I meant to post this by then, but I just got so busy with school staring up again and the holidays that I never had a chance to actually post anything. But, as many people have said before, "Better late than never". (My teacher if someone hands in late work.) Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter. I worked really hard writing it. And guess what…Tintin, Haddock and Snowy all appear in the next chapter. What will Riley and Celia do when they come face-to-face with our favorite ginger reporter, Tintin? You'll have to wait and see! ; - )**

 **Again, please review the story if you liked it, and even if you hated it! I live and breathe feedback of all types. Goodbye for now!**

 **-Tintastic01**


	3. Chapter 3: An Unbelievable Story

Chapter Three:

A yellow motorbike pulled up the driveway of Marlinespike Hall and parked. The driver took off his helmet, revealing his fiery ginger hair. He walked around to the side of the bike and kicked up the stand.

"Snowy! Come on!" The young man called. A small dog with curly white fur popped up his head from the bike's basket. He then hopped out and trotted inside next to his master.

' _Honestly, Tintin, I don't know why you insist on stuffing me in that basket.'_ Snowy thought. The young man walked in and closed the door behind him.

' _Hmm, it seems the Captain has not yet returned from the store.'_ Tintin thought to himself. He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Snowy growling towards his bedroom up the grand staircase. "What is it boy?" He inquired to the dog. Then, unexpectedly, the dog bolted up the staircase faster than a jack rabbit, leaving Tintin to bumble up the stairs after him. He nearly tripped over Snowy, who was standing frozen like a stone, in front of Tintin's bedroom door. "What's got you in such a fuss?" He asked rhetorically. Slowly, he grabbed the door knob and turned it. Snowy growled and sneered. Then quickly, he flung the door open and the dog flew in, the young man following behind him. What he discovered inside his bedroom gave him quite a shock.

On the floor at the foot of his bed laid two teenage girls, and all around them were shards of broken glass. Snowy was next to them, sniffing one of the girl's hair. "What the bloody hell…?" He said, eyes wide. He ran to the side of one girl. He kneeled down next to her and put two fingers to her neck. "Thank God, she has a pulse." He said with a sigh of relief. He checked the other girl as well, who also had a pulse. He sat back and began to think.

' _What are two girls doing in my bedroom?'_ He thought. He decided to ask them when they woke up instead of trying to figure it out blindly. In fact, they would probably wake up much faster if he made them more comfortable. He picked up one girl, putting one arm around her shoulders and another under her knees, carrying her bridal style to the couch beside his bed, carefully avoiding the shards of glass scattered across the floor. He then proceeded to carry the other girl to his window seat. He pulled up a chair to the middle of the room to watch them. Snowy trotted over to plop down next to him.

All that was left to do now was wait. Wait for the two girls to wake up. Wait for the captain to come home. Just wait. As he sat there, his head began to tilt backwards. Slowly, he drifted into a light snooze. The only sound to fill the otherwise stiff and silent air was the light snores of the young man in the chair.

Right as the young man's snores were growing louder than ever, Snowy began to bark. He abruptly snapped his head up and looked around, ignoring the pain in his neck from sleeping with his head laid back. "What is it boy?" He said, rubbing away the grogginess in his eyes. A big bellowing voice sounded from downstairs.

"Hello, Tinnie-boy! I'm back from the store!" It yelled.

"Captain, how many times must I say it? PLEASE, don't call me Tinnie-boy. You know good and well my name is Tintin." The young man said, coming down the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah lad. I know. I just like to see your face when I make fun of you." The Captain said. "Anyhow, what's new?" He asked, setting down the grocery bags on the table.

"Oh nothing, I just…" Tintin thought about whether or not he should tell the Captain about the two girls currently unconscious in his room.

"Just what?" The Captain asked curiously. Tintin began scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Uh…um…well, there's two teenage girls in my room if that counts as new." Tintin said. He regretted the words as soon as he said them. The Captain froze as he slowly turned to face Tintin with a strange look on his face.

"Um, Tintin lad, I know you're like…seventeen now, but, don't you think you're a little young to be…uh." The Captain began to stammer.

"No, no, no! Captain, you've got it all wrong." Said Tintin quickly, putting up his hands. "I walked into my room, and sprawled on the floor were two teenage girls and glass all over the place." He defended. There was a void of silence between the Captain and Tintin for a short moment before Tintin asked, "Do you have any ice?", breaking the silence.

"Um, yes. I believe so. Check the refrigerator." Said the Captain. Tintin got a small bag and grabbed some ice from out of the ice box, and proceeded out of the kitchen and up the stairs, the Captain trailing behind him. The Captain was quite curious to see the two teenage girls in Tintin's bedroom, a sight never seen before.

As he entered the room, Tintin noticed that the girl that he had carried to his couch was beginning to stir slightly. Tintin padded over to the couch with the bag of ice. He sat down next to her and put the ice to her forehead, which made her cringe slightly. She moaned loudly, her eyes slowly and groggily coming open. ' _Well, the wait is over'_ Tintin thought to himself.

XXX

Riley's head pounded. She felt as if her heart was in her brain. She felt a cold bag of ice go against her head, and she cringed as the cold condensation touched her skin. She moaned and tried slowly to open her eyes. At first, her sight was blurry, but as she focused her eyes, she saw a boy with gingery hair sitting next to her, holding an ice pack to her head and talking to a man with jet black hair and a captain's hat. She could not yet make out what they were saying, as her ears were still adjusting. She focused her eyes on the boy, who then said something inaudible to her. "What?" She asked groggily as she tried to sit up.

"I said 'Good morning, Sunshine!'" A British voice came to Riley's ears as the boy's features finally came into focus. His face looked so familiar, but she just couldn't put a name with a face. She propped herself up on her elbows and held the bag of ice to her forehead as Tintin took his hand away.

"What's going on!? Where am I!? Who are you!? Where's Celia!?" Riley began asking, growing more and more aggravated and confused.

"Calm down! Calm down! You'll black out again if you're not careful." Tintin said, gently pushing her to lean against the side of the couch. Riley's head began to swim as she leaned her weight against the arm of the couch. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again at the sound of Celia stirring. "Ah, you must be Celia, right?" Asked Tintin, walking over to Celia on the window seat to help her adjust to her surroundings.

"W-what? W-where are w-we? How did we-wow!" She cut her sentence short as she noticed who she was staring at. "Uh-I-uh-uh-I," She began to stammer.

"It's okay. Don't try to talk, just relax." Said Tintin, gently stroking Celia's arm. As she stammered, she passed out again with astonishment.

"I apologize about her," Tintin and the Captain returned their attention to Riley, who was now sitting in an upright position with her legs hanging off the side of the couch. "She tends to freak out when strange situations come her way. She won't be of much help." Finished Riley. Tintin again crossed over to the other side of the room to join her on the couch.

"Well, then, maybe you can be of some assistance." He said. "What are you doing here, and how did you get here?" He inquired.

"I asked you the same thing earlier! How am I supposed to-" Riley stopped mid-sentence and actually got a good look at the room she was currently in. Unframed newspapers were strung up on the walls. There was a window seat overlooking a garden. There was a fireplace, and on the mantle, a clock with the glass shattered, set to 12:00. She then turned her attention to the two men who were currently in the room as well. That's when she recognized him, the one they had done a whole unit on that year. Tintin, famous boy reporter of the 1930's was sitting right next to her, ginger hair and all. "Oh…my…God." She said, separating her words with pauses.

"What? Did you just remember something?" Tintin asked, hope gleaming in his eyes. Riley froze in shock for a moment before speaking again.

"May I talk to my friend Celia for a moment, gentlemen?" Riley asked, a fake smile appearing on her face.

"Sure." They said. Riley stood, waiting for them to leave, but they just stood there, staring at her.

"Alone?" She said, clearing up the misunderstanding that had caused the lull in the conversation.

"Oh, yes, of course ladies." Tintin said, guiding the oblivious Captain out of the room. "Just call us back in when you have everything sorted out." He finished, shutting the door abruptly behind him. The Captain turned to face Tintin.

"Lad! I thought you were trying to figure out what happened and why they're here! We very well can't do that standing behind a door!" The Captain argued.

"Relax Captain, relax! I think that maybe if they independently work out what happened, they will come to a conclusion faster." Tintin explained, calming down his seafaring friend.

"Good Lord, Lad. You sound like my psychiatrist." Said the Captain.

"You have a psychiatrist, Captain?"

"Living with you…Of course I do." The Captain stated rather frankly. Tintin shrugged and turned towards the door.

XXX

"What…is…happening?!" Riley said walking over to Celia. It was then she noticed that Celia was hyperventilating. "Oh will you get ahold of yourself!" Riley said, slapping her multiple times in the arm.

"Okay, okay! This is just hard to comprehend!" Celia replied.

"I know! One minute we are standing in this room…but…different, then the next we are in the same room with freaking Tintin!" Riley elaborated.

"Well, let's look around. Maybe we'll find some clues." Celia suggested, clearly calmed down a bit. They began to look around the room, carefully avoiding the glass on the floor. Riley walked over to the desk cattycornered in the corner of the room. She picked up a paper that had been freshly written on. The date read ' _1934_ '. As she read this, she gasped.

"What is it?" Celia asked, walking over to the desk to join her. She showed the paper to Celia, who then began to hyperventilate again. She promptly slapped her on the back, and she began to breath normally again.

"If this is the actual date, which I think it is, we went…" Riley gulped in astonishment.

"Back in time!" Celia whisper shouted as if it was a secret. Riley walked over to the door and slowly turned the knob. She then swung the door open, Celia at her side. Tintin stood there, hands on his hips and a smile on his face. For a split second, Riley felt a flutter on the inside, but quickly pushed it away.

"Well…have you two figured out what happened yet?" He asked after a moment of silence. Riley and Celia looked at each other, then back at the Captain and Tintin.

"Yes…but it will take a lot of explaining, and it's a totally unbelievable story." Riley said.

"I live for the unbelievable." Said Tintin as he walked into the room, pushing passed Celia and Riley. They both just shrugged and followed after him.

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys and gals. I'm dreadfully sorry that this chapter took so long, and I haven't updated in…like…forever, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. Finally, Riley and Celia meet up with Tintin and the Captain! Aw yeah! How are they going to handle Riley and Celia's unbelievable story? Tune in to find out!**

 **As always, I love feedback and I live on it. So, if any of you guys have anything to say about my Fanfic (even if it's only one word like 'cool' or something), leave it in the reviews. Hopefully my next chapter will be up soon.**

 **Until then, my friends!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Of Gadgets and Galas

Tintin plopped down on the couch, notebook and pencil in hand. "Go ahead." He said, waiting for Riley and Celia to start their story. Riley and Celia grabbed chairs and sat across from him. Silence covered the room like a veil. Tintin flailed his hand around in a circle as if to say ' _you may begin now.'_

"Well…I'm not quite sure where to start." Riley said, trying to think.

"Start at the beginning." The Captain suggested, sitting on the edge of Tintin's bed.

"Okay…It all started…well…85 years in the future", the Captain's face quirked into a strange, quizzical expression as Riley said this.

"That's completely absurd you crazy Bashi-Bazouk! Why you sound like a-"

"That's enough Captain." Tintin said in a normal, but stern voice, cutting his sentence short. The Captain looked down, abashed by his yelling at Riley. "Go ahead, Riley. Keep going." Tintin said, the pleasant smile returning to his face. Riley, somewhat frightened from the sudden outburst of the Captain, again began to explain their story. She explained how they had gone to Marlinspike Hall for a tour, and had wandered into Tintin's room. She told them how she had pressed the button on the clock and it had begun to glow red. She explained how they began to fall through the vast nothingness. "Well, you know the rest." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Mhm," Tintin mumbled, scribbling furiously on his notepad. "Wow, that is quite unbelievable." He said, his eyes meeting with hers. A smile spread across his face as he looked into her beautiful light blue eyes. She did the same to his grey, kind, curious one.

"Ehem…" A voice came suddenly, breaking the moment. They turned their heads to see that the remark had come from none other than the Captain who was looking at them with an expression that said ' _Guys?'_ A deep blush graced both of their faces. "I still don't believe her." Said the Captain. Riley thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to get him to believe their story. Then she remembered something.

"Celia, get out your phone." She said, the idea still glistening in her eyes. Celia, somewhat confused, pulled her phone out of her back pocket. Riley snatched it from her and handed it to the Captain, who was somewhat weirded-out by the flat metal object in his palm. Celia pressed the _ON_ button. The screen flashed to life with a picture of a puppy riding a unicorn on a rainbow.

"What the bloody-hell!" the Captain exclaimed with surprise. In his fit of shock he hurled the phone up into the air. Miraculously, it landed perfectly in Tintin's hand, as it was his turn to marvel at the gadget.

"Wow! Fascinating! It's a picture frame that glows!" Said Tintin in astonishment.

"Actually, it's called a-"

"Who cares what it is! It's bloody scary! I believe you, just don't do anything else weird!" The Captain shrieked, obviously frightened by the futuristic object.

"Well, speaking of all this…time warp stuff," Tintin said, handing the gadget gingerly back to Celia. "I think I may know someone who can take a look at this phenomenon." He said, standing from his chair.

"Who? The Muffin Man?" Riley asked him sarcastically.

"As delicious as that may sound, no. Professor Cuthburt Calculus." Tintin said matter-of-factly, bouncing on the ball of his foot.

 **XXX**

"Huh, I say! This glass seems to be of a strange composure. I wonder if the curvature of the glass has components of certain remnants of tachyons!" Rambled the small man with round glasses that Tintin identified as Professor Calculus. They had been standing at the doorframe of the room for about a half an hour waiting for the professor to come up with a conclusion, but so far, it had been to no avail.

Celia moaned and plopped down on the floor next to the doorway. "Uhhh! This is horrible! We lost the group, we passed out, we have no idea where the heck we are-" Her sentence was cut short when a loud rumble came from deep within her stomach. Everyone's eyes grew wide. "AND _NOW_ I'M HUNGRY!" She said, her head falling to her hands as crocodile tears flowed down her face.

Riley sighed, "Ignore her, she does this all the time."

"Well, if you're hungry, I can have Nester the butler cook up some food." Said the Captain in a somewhat nonchalant manner.

Celia slowly lifted her head from her hands to look at him. "Really…you would let us, total strangers, eat dinner with you and stay at your big mansion?" She said, standing from her position and walking to him.

"Uh-n-now n-now, I said nothing about staying the night-" His sentence dropped off as Celia began whimpering and welling up with tears. "Oh, alright. I suppose you can-"

"Oh thank you so much Mr. Captain Sir!" She said, hugging him and cutting his sentence short. The Captain, somewhat shocked, held her shoulders and began to lead her down the stairs saying "Alright lassie, I think it's time we get you a glass of water."

Riley put a hand on Tintin's back. "Don't worry, between you and me, she's kind of in monthly crisis mode, so her emotions are probably jacked up pretty bad." She explained.

Tintin turned to look at her. "What's monthly crisis mode?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"Uh…I really don't think I should be the one to tell you that…ask your Captain friend." She said, patting his back and following the others down the stairs. Tintin remained for a moment, a blush creeping up his face, not just from knowing what she was talking about, but also thinking of how delicate her hand felt on his back. _'What's going on with me? I never feel this way!'_ He thought to himself. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and began his descent down the stairs.

 **XXX**

As they were sitting and eating, Nester came in with an envelope on a silver platter. "A message as arrived for you, Sir." He announced. He walked over to his place at the table and gave it to him.

"Thank you, Nester."

Riley leaned over to Tintin sitting on the left of her. "Who's he, the butler?" She asked. He nodded and continued to stuff his mouth with turkey breast and mashed potatoes. Tintin noticed that she continued to stare at him, so he met her gaze.

"You…you have a little something right…uh…" She said, gesturing to the side of her face.

"What?" He asked, confused at her gesture.

"Here, let me help you." She said, grabbing his chin and turning his head towards her. She took her other hand and wiped away the mashed potatoes and gravy from his cheek with a napkin. After she finished, Tintin continued to stare at her in a somewhat shocked manner. A blush crept up both of their faces. Luckily, the booming yell of the Captain brought them out of their embarrassed daze.

"THUNDERING TYPHOONS!" He screamed.

"What is it, Captain? Has someone died?" Tintin asked.

"Only my will to live, lad! Bianca Castifiore invited us to a gala at her house in Milan in two days." He said, breaking out into a sweat.

"Oh, galas are fun." Said Celia, who was sitting across the table from Riley.

"Not with this baboon they're not." He said.

"Captain, she's not a baboon, she's a dear friend!" Tintin scolded. "And we are going to that gala!"

The Captain sighed, "Well, seeing as I never usually win in an argument like this…I suppose…I'll stay here and you can go!" He said, getting up from his seat and running out of the room. "Oh! And take the girls!" He said from the stairs.

Tintin rolled his eyes. "He's still going." He said, turning his attention to the girls. The girls shifted in their seats, their eyes downcast, as if they were puppies wanting something. "What?" He asked cautiously.

"Well, you see, we've never been to a gala, and we were wondering if possibly maybe we could in any way possible come…maybe?" Celia asked in a small voice. Tintin looked between the hopeful faces of the two girls. A smile slowly crept onto his face.

"Well…alright. If you can find some dresses." Said Tintin. The girls squealed with delight. Celia stood up and ran out of the room, nearly hitting the doorframe on her way out.

Riley laughed, "I better go catch up with her before she goes somewhere she shouldn't."

"Okay. You know where your room is then? Up the stairs, first door on your right." He said, pointing out the door of the dining room.

"Got it." She said. "Oh, and Tintin?" He looked at her, sparkling grey eyes gazing at hers. "Thank you…for everything." He smiled widely at her, teeth gleaming.

"You're very welcome, Riley." He said. She then left the room and proceeded to find out where Celia had run off to, leaving Tintin to lightly chuckle to himself, a big dopey grin plastered on his face.

 **A/N**

 **Hey there all! Yes, I realize this update is long overdue, and I've probably left you all with little hope for any updates, but here I am, and here's your update! Yippee! Anyways, I sincerely apologize to each and every one of my readers in hope that you all don't lose hope in this story. I also would like to thank those of you who have stuck with me and this story, especially DisneyPrincess55 (P.S. you should check out her stories, they are wicked awesome). I hope to see you all again soon, although I cannot project exactly when I will be updating again. I will make my best effort to update at least once a month. Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

Riley slowly fluttered open her eyes. The sun warmed her body and brightened her eyes. She slowly sat up, taking a breath of fresh, sweet air coming in through either window next to the bed, whose bright white sheets currently covered her. She looked around at the room she was in, which was when she realized that she wasn't in her room. She didn't have a mahogany desk cattycornered in the left opposite the bed (in fact, she would be lucky to afford one), nor did she have a closet to the right in front of the bed. This was most certainly not her room!  
At first, she was startled, and her eyes grew wide, but then she recalled the night before, and she remembered the invitation to the gala. She remembered the delicious dinner, and seeing Tintin stuff his face, what a sight!  
Tintin. She remembered seeing him for the first time yesterday, how crazy it was to see someone from your textbooks in school, who lived way before your time at that. Not to mention, he was pretty cute for someone from your history books.  
'Stop it! What are you thinking?' Riley thought to herself. She hadn't ever truly been attracted to others, maybe a cute boy here and there (oh, and Henry Garfield, who she had a crush on throughout elementary school, and unfortunately moved away in 5th grade), but none made her feel like this. He gave her butterflies in her stomach, and what was up with the weird long glances? Many people didn't view her as someone to be affiliated with in the first place. They all knew her past, and along with it, her mother.  
She shook her head. 'Stop thinking about this stuff! Think about something-ANYTHING else' . Suddenly, a gurgle from deep within her stomach disrupted her thoughts. 'Perfect!' . She threw off the soft linen sheets and swung her feet over the bed and onto the wood floor below her. The movement disturbed Celia, who muttered something incoherent and turned over. Riley looked at her and chuckled to herself, then proceeds out of the bedroom door towards the grand marble staircase.  
As she was making her descent, a smell hit her nose like a ton of bricks. 'Mmm...smells like...BACON!' She thought to herself. She began going faster and faster down the stairs, finally reaching the ground floor and heading towards what she believed to be the dining room where they had eaten the night before.  
Sitting at the end of the table, his face shrouded by a newspaper, was of course, Tintin. His plate was full of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. He must not have heard her enter, which luckily meant that he didn't notice that she was drooling just from LOOKING and the bacon. She finally composed herself enough to speak up and not startle him.  
"Hey Tintin." She said taking a seat next to him. He put down the newspaper to look in her direction.  
"Why hello Riley! Did you sleep well?" He said smiling at her.  
She froze. His eyes were so grey, and deep. She could literally stare at them for hours they were so intricate. They always made him look like he was giving you his full attention, as if his spotlight was on you the minute they landed on you.  
"Riley?" She heard him say. She shook her head and blinked. "Huh? What'd you say?"  
"I asked if you slept well." He said chuckling.  
"Oh! Yes, yes I did thank you." She said. She inwardly slapped herself for being so stupid. How embarrassing!  
"Well that's lovely!" He said, taking a bite of his food and returning to his newspaper. Seeing him eat the food made her even more hungry. She could feel her mouth watering, imagining how flavorful the eggs and pancakes would taste, and the sizzle of the bacon on her tongue.  
Tintin must have noticed her staring at his food, because as soon as she thought that, he slid his plate to her and said "Here, I usually don't eat this much anyways. I can't stomach it."  
"No, I can't take your food!" She said, sliding it back over to his side.  
"No, no really, I insist." He said, trying desperately to push the plate against her force. Soon enough, they were passing the plate back and forth like a hockey puck on ice, until Tintin's hand accidentally landed on hers. They briefly looked up at each other, and quick as a flash, removed their hands from the plate and looked in the opposite direction. After a second, without her noticing, Tintin slid the plate back to her side of the table. He quickly got up and started to leave the room so she couldn't try to pass it back to him. As he got to the threshold, he said "Make sure you wear something a little more...eh, of this era. We're going shopping today."  
"What for?" She asked.  
"Well, dresses for the both of you, and suits for me and the Captain." He said, and with that he left the room.  
A few minutes later, Celia entered and sat down next to Riley and said "What's for breakfast?" but of course she didn't notice. She was too busy thinking of how cute Tintin would look in a Tux.

Hey guys! Sorry this is kinda short, but I'm sure the next chapter will be longer. Also, I wanted to disclaim quickly that this story DOES have some themes of Child Abuse and Alcoholism. They're mild, but they're there. Just making sure you knew. Catch ya later! OH! And before I forget, please comment! I love seeing those little things, especially if I'm doing something wrong


	6. Chapter 6

When she was little, Riley's Aunt used to take her to yard and garage sales. She remembered being dragged around for hours on end several days a week looking at different things people had for sale. To her, it was like a wonderland of treasures that she could search for, and toys she could play with. Unfortunately, that all ended when her aunt died the summer before her 6th birthday, but at least she got to keep the memories.  
The market reminded her of those garage sales with her aunt, except it was like hundreds of them strung together. It amazed her, and the wonder from her childhood came back in leaps and bounds. The endless rugs, kitchen utensils, toys, antiques, artwork, clothing, and more was astonishing, and created somewhat of a maze.  
When she found the booth she was looking for, she brought Celia over to it. Gowns and dresses lined the sides and hung from the roof of the booth. Gowns of pink, purple, burgundy, maroon, gold, and more were on display. They had the effect of a stained glass window on the tent.  
"Ah, I see you've found the dress booth. Well, have fun ladies, I'll be back in a jiff. Oh! And here is some money..." Tintin reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet handing them banknotes. "Alright, I'll leave you to it." He said walking off.  
Riley turned her attention back to the dresses. There were so many to choose from that it almost hurt her brain to look at them all. She had never really had an opportunity to wear or even go shopping for dresses that often, so she didn't really know what to do. Her mom never really had enough money to buy her nice stuff, especially clothes. All of her money either went to their apartment or her mother's alcoholism.  
She glanced over at Celia, hoping to pick something up from her shopping style. She had always had the best fashion sense, and ever since she met her, she had always helped Riley with her fashion. It helped her a lot, especially because it was like she didn't have a mom to help her with that kind of stuff in the first place.  
Celia turned to her with a baby blue dress laced with sparkling thread. "What do you think of this, because I think, while complementing my light complexion, it gives me a touch of vibrancy, and its not too flashy and-hey, are you even listening to me?".  
Riley was looking at a beautiful long white gown, that when she held it up to her, it brushed the top of her toes. It wasn't puffy, but rather straight, with a slit that went up to the bottom of her knee. The top had long sheer sleeves with embroideries of stitched flowers. She heard Celia gasp.  
"Wow...you remembered what I've taught you," she wiped a fake tear from her eye, "I'm so proud!" They laughed in unison and walked into the changing room.  
XXX  
Tintin began to walk back towards the dress booth where he left Riley and Celia. He had picked out a suit (after much pestering from the captain) and had the bag in his left hand.  
He remembered when he had first come here. It was with his mother when he was very young, maybe 5 or 6. They had ridden the Ferris wheel together, and his mother had bought him a toy train set. He remembered his mother. He remembered the love for his mother he had had. And the hatred for his father when he had...taken her away from him. He began to feel a tear slip down his cheek when he quickly wiped it away and held his head up high. No matter, everything he did, every criminal and assassin and murderer he fought, every drug ring he destroyed, it was all for her. And that's what really mattered.  
He walked up to the booth, the Captain at his side, and Snowy trotting alongside him, the faithful boy. "Did the two girls who were in here earlier leave already?" He asked the store clerk. The lethargic woman just sighed and pointed in the vicinity of the dressing rooms. Just at the moment he looked over, Riley and Celia walked out of the dressing rooms, wearing the dresses they had picked. Tintin felt everything stop. Every wheel stopped spinning. Every bird froze in flight. Every breath of wind stopped blowing, and every river stopped flowing. All he could do was stare at her, gawking, his mouth agape. No words could describe the beauty he saw before him. Riley was so captivating. He acknowledged her coming in his direction and saying something or other, but other than that, he couldn't acknowledge anything but her beauty. All he could do was smile and nod. Just smile and nod...and smile and nod...and look like a total idiot in love while doing it. Least to say it made the Captain and Celia chuckle


	7. Chapter 7

Saying that the mansion was huge was an understatement. It was more accurate to say that it was gargantuan. It stood high up on a mountain, overlooking the city of Milan and the hills and cliffs surrounding it. On the other side was the sea, the waves crashing onto the side of the cliffs and rocks the mansion looked over.

The group of five (Snowy, and a very cranky Captain included) walked up to the two giant dark oak double doors. Tintin turned around to face the group. "Well, I hope you all have a marvelous time. Captain, please try not to be so cross and steer clear of the liquor table. Celia, I hope you have a lovely time. Keep an eye on Snowy for me. Snowy, be a good boy. And Riley..." He stopped, looking at how beautiful she looked with her hair in a bun, and light makeup. "Uh-erm...have a lovely time." He said, scratching the back of his neck and once again facing the door. He straightened his suit jacket, and timidly knocked on the door.

A middle aged, short man with a black com over, wearing a suit opened the door. "Ah, halo signor Tintin, velcome to ze party of Signora Castifiore! I zee you have brought zome guests, no? Please, ztep inside" he said, stepping to the side and allowing them to enter. They stepped inside, the warm atmosphere of the party reaching their souls. The pleasant sound of people laughing and talking pleasantly, and the faint music of the nearby orchestra extended to their ears.

Bianca Castifiore noticed them enter, and dismissed the group of paparazzi around her asking her questions for their magazines and newspapers. She sauntered over to them, her magenta gown swishing as she did, the paparazzi following behind her closely, like puppies to their mother. "Ah! Signor Tintin and Signor Fanbox! How are you darlings?" She said, extending her arms out in a boisterous fashion.

"We are wonderful signora, and we are most grateful to be in your presence tonight." Tintin said, hands folded behind his back.

"Wonderful darlings! Wonderful! Ah, and I see that you have brought dates no?". She said, gesturing to Riley and Celia.

Tintin's eyes went wide and he took a sharp intake of air. "Uhm, no! No, no, they are just friends signora." He said smiling. Riley's face fell a little. 'Is that really all he thinks of me? No, no, I'm just overreacting. We are just friends anyways.' She thought to herself.

"Well, alright my friends. Enjoy the gala! I must get back to the boys," she said gesturing to the paparazzi behind her, "Adieu!" She said with a flick of her hand, turning and sauntering back to the flashing of cameras.

Riley watched her as she left. She had such an air about her, she just seems like the person your eyes immediately went to in a room full of people. She turned to talk to Tintin, but had noticed that he had wondered off to talk with another man she didn't recognize. She looked for Celia, but she was off with Snowy, surrounded by cute boys ogling over him. Or her, she couldn't tell. She didn't have to look for the Captain, she knew where he was, no liquor being one of Tintin's biggest no no's for him. That's when she noticed she was all by herself. She felt awkward and...anxious. The music and talking turned into a big ball of unease in her stomach. She turned around, and saw an archway off to the side of the house away from the ballroom and onto a balcony. She promptly headed towards it and walked outside.

The fresh cool night air permeated her senses. It cleared her mind and she took a deep breath of it. She felt much safer on the balcony. There was no one there that could mess with her or worse. She leaned on the marble railing, her forearms supporting her weight, and she put her head on them.

"Nice night huh." She jumped, though the voice was quite familiar. She clutched at her chest, "Tintin. You scared me."

"I apologize. I didn't mean to. I don't blame you for being out here, the night is so beautiful, why would you want to spend it cooped up talking to a bunch of people you don't know." He said walking over to the balcony and matching her prior stance. She joined him and looked up.

"I guess you're right y'know. The stars are pretty cool out here." Se said.

"Mhm." Tintin mumbled in response. A silence became present between them. Not an awkward one, just a peaceful lull where they were both content in enjoying the night air. That is until Tintin broke the silence.

"So, tell me about yourself," he shifted his body to face her, leaning on his elbow, "about where you grew up, and your parents and what not."

Riley turned to face him as well. She looked at him foe a moment, meeting his gaze, then smiled. "Alright, I grew up in California. I met Celia in Kindergarten and we became best friends." She finished, looking at him for a response. He merely twisted his hand in a circle, urging her on. "um...I've lived in about four foster homes." She said, her voice dropping slightly, almost to a whisper.

Tintin nodded and hummed an "oh.". It was a minute before her continued. "Wait, you're an orphan?"

"No, but it felt that way. My mom was deemed...unfit to raise me or something." She said, blowing it off as if she was just telling a story from a few days ago or something.

"I see." Said Tintin. "My father was similar."

"In what way?" She asked.

"In the way that he was unfit to raise me. Or be around anyone for that matter." He finished.

"Why, was he a drunk, or did he beat you, or was he neglectful or di-"

"All of the above" he cut her off.

"Oh." she said. Now it was her turn to be quite. Another silence was present, but this one different. This one somehow...loud, and taking up space, as if it were a sword hanging above their heads.

"Riley, do you know why I became a journalist?" Tintin asked.

"No."

"It was for my mother, Riley. I'm making sure that evil people can't do evil things, like what happened to her."

"What happened to her?"

Tintin was silent for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not it would be a good idea to give her such a vital peace of his life and soul.

"My father murdered her." He said, quietly and quickly, lest someone else see his vulnerability.

Riley stood motionless. She expected the worst, but was silently hoping for the best. Unfortunately, her gut was right. She looked at him, his eyes focusing on something invisible off in the distance.

"I'm so sorry, Tintin." She said. Resting a hand on his back.

"Oh, it's alright. It was quite a long while ago and I've come to terms with it.". He said, grabbing her hand, rubbing circle into it.

This shot electricity into both of their beings. The music of the orchestra once again permeated the air around them. He brought their clasped hands up, and grabbed her other hand and put it on his shoulder. "W-would you l-like to d-dance with m-me." He asked shakily.

"Sure" she said, grabbing his hand and setting it gently ln her waist. They began to slowly sway, letting the music guide them, and they slowly got closer until their bodies were pressed together. Slowly, and timidly, Riley set her head on his shoulder. Their hands unclasped, allowing both of her hands to rest around his neck, and his hand to go on the other side of her waist. They continued to sway until Riley looked up at him. Tintin panicked at first, hoping that he hadn't stepped on her foot, but it melted away when he saw her smile. They looked at each other for a moment, before Tintin noticed that she was leaning towards him, closing her eyes. It was even later before he noticed that he was subconsciously doing the same thing, and closing his eyes, he leaned in. He could feel her warm breath on his lips as-

BANG!

They jumped apart, eyes wide. They jerked their heads towards the ballroom, hearing screaming and cries before-

BANG! BANG!

Two more gunshots were sounded. Tintin and Riley looked at each other panicked before Tintin braced her shoulders and said "Stay here"

He ran towards the ballroom at top speed, but he stopped halfway there. He then turned and ran back to the balcony. He once again braced her shoulders and chastely pressed his lips to her left cheek. He smiled a sad smile at her, and once again ran back towards the ballroom.

Riley touched her cheek where the kiss' ghost dwelled. All of a sudden a thought snapped her mind to attention. 'Celia!'

She ran towards the ballroom as well, towards the screaming and cries of fear.

A/N: Well, how did you like that? A nice long chapter just for you guys! I'm sorry for making it a cliffhanger, and I'm sorry for the lead on kiss not kiss thing, but don't worry because I will personally make sure all loose ends are tied up by the end of the fanfic! Hope to post again soon, and please, I would love to know if I suck at this or not, so just write a little review down there in that review box thingy. Thanks guys! Until next time!


	8. Capter 8: Always

Chaotic. It was the only word that could describe the ballroom. Riley ran through the doorway and scanned the room. Many women were sitting on steps or armchairs being fanned by their dates, and many of the men were conversing with each other, brows knit together in worry.

She didn't care about them at the moment though, she was desperately looking for the one person who mattered most in that moment. Celia. Her best, lifelong lifeline. She was the only person she ever knew and trusted with anything and everything. She couldn't lose her. She just couldn't.

She searched the faces that clouded her view, not one of them matching Celia's. She felt the pang of tears work their way into her eyes. She put a hand to her forehead, feeling it begin to pound, her breath quickening, as if it were scarce in the room. Spots dotted her eyes as she closed them, tears spilling out of them.

She opened them again and spotted a reassuring sight: Tintin. He was standing across the room speaking with the scared butler that had opened the door to them. The small butler's head shined with sweat, a hanky in his hand to dab at it. He was calmly talking to him, his facial expressions very peaceful.

Before she knew it, she was walking towards him. When Tintin spot her, he dismissed himself from the conversation with the butler, and began to walk towards Riley as well. When he noticed her fear, his face fell. He began to walk faster towards her, and so did she. They got faster and faster until they met face to face. They were silent for a moment before Tintin cupped Riley's cheek.

"What's wrong, Riley is everything alright?"

She took a moment, not trusting her voice. "Celia's not here." She said, her voice faltering and cracking as she expected. Tintin waited for a moment to see if she would continue. She finally said "I...I'm scared" a sob racked her body and her hands flew to her face, wiping at her eyes.

"Oh Riley..." Tintin said, almost at a whisper. He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing circles into her back as she sobbed into his shoulder. "They must've taken Snowy too..." He said in a melancholy tone. He felt a tear slip from his eye, and he planted a small kiss at the top of her head (hoping desperately that she wouldn't notice). After a moment, the Captain came over to the pair.

"Tintin, Riley, you two need to see this. We've found something." He said.

The two broke from their embrace and followed the Captain. Down a hall across the ballroom, a note was plastered to the wall, written in clipping of magazines. It said: This is the last straw. I already have one of the girls and the scientist. Tintin must give me the secret to time travel, or they will BOTH be dead...and soon. You have 3 days.

Riley sunk to the floor. Her palms flattened against her temples and her mouth fell open. Thoughts began to plague her mind.

'She's dead. It doesn't matter what the note says, she's dead. I'm never going to see her again. I'm never going to se the ONE THING in my life that makes it worth living ever again.' She grasped at her hair and shut her eyes tight, beginning to get angry with herself.

Tintin noticed this and sat down next to her. "Riley, come on, speak to me." He said. She looked at him with flaming eyes, her soul on fire with disdain for herself. "I killed her! I killed my best friend, I-IT'S ALL M-MY FAULT" tears began to snake down her eyes as she said this. Tintin braced her shoulders.

"Calm down Riley, calm down. Its not your fault, none of this is your fault.". He said.

"NO! This is my fault, and you won't be able to convince me otherwise! I'm no better than my mom!" She said, her voice rising. She was on the brink of falling apart.

Tintin turned to Bianca Castifiore. Standing, he walked over to her and leaned in to her ear. "Signora, might we have a room to stay tonight, we must get to the bottom of this.".

"Why, of course Signor Tintin, my friends must be watched after this horrible incident. You may have the large and adjoining guest, and Captain Ladflock can have the west wing bedroom." She said, an empathetic look in her eyes.

Tintin pulled Riley up and put his arm around her shoulder supporting her as they walked.

XXX

Tintin closed the double doors of the guest room and shoved his hands in his pockets. He turned to look back at Riley, who was sitting at the edge of the bed. Her eyes were puffy and red, and mascara streaked down her face. She had a cross face, and it was aimed at no one in particular, but herself. Tintin sighed, walking over to the bed and taking a seat beside her. She crossed her arms and looked down at the floor sniffing, refusing to meet his gaze. Tintin tried to put a hand on her back, but to Tintin's surprise, Riley smacked it away.

"Don't try to do that Tintin. Don't try to convince me it wasn't me. Don't you get it? It was all me. Everything." Her voice began to get louder, and more stern.

"From the moment we met, I was trouble for her. Her mother didn't like us hanging out because of my background." She felt tears began to spill from her eyes, but she refused to stop. Her voice didn't falter, but instead continued to raise in tone and force.

"I was bad news for her, but I let her stay with me. I was selfish and desperate for a friend in a world that hated me, and I let her stay with me, and now she's going to-"

"STOP!". Riley gasped and looked at Tintin. She had never heard him talk like that, even though she had only known him for a few days. She even remembered reading his biography in their textbook and it stating that he was always calm and collected. But now, he looked at her, his eyes burning and his mouth formed into a scowl.

"Riley, you listen to me. And listen CLOSE." He said, bracing her shoulders. "This is NOT your fault. NONE of this is your fault, am I CLEAR?"

Riley nodded, unable to speak.

"Good. And you are NOT selfish, NOR are you desperate for a friend, because from what I've seen, you've got a DAMN good one.". He said, emphasizing every word.

"It doesn't matter if the world hates you. Who your mother was doesn't matter. You are NOT your mother, you're Riley. And that should DAMN well be enough." He said, releasing her shoulders. He then sighed, and spoke in a much softer tone. "Don't worry. We'll find her. I swear on my life." He cupped her cheek, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Now, you go on and get changed into some nightclothes and wash up. We'll start searching tomorrow." With that, he stood and straightened his pants. "I'm just down the hall if something happens, alright? Have a good rest.". Hs shoved his hands in his pockets and made for the door, but the quite sound of Riley's voice stopped him.

"Tintin?"

"Yes?"

"...Thank you. For everything." She said, a sad smile appearing on her face.

Tintin reflected her smile. "You're amazing Riley, no matter what you or anyone else thinks. And you will always be special to me." He turned to walk out the doorway, repeating "Always." Silently, under his breath, as he heard the door 'click' to a close


	9. Chapter 9: The Search for Celia

Riley stared up at the blank ceiling, her mind lost in the events of the night. No matter how hard she tried, how much she tossed and turned, she couldn't rid herself of the feeling that Celia was dead. She sat up, tucking the hair being her ears. She couldn't just sit here, she had to DO something.

She swung her feet over the side of the bed, and went to the closet. There were pants and a white button up shirt hanging up, which she promptly grabbed, along with a belt sitting at the back of a shelf. She quickly threw off the nightgown she had been given by Signora Castifiore, and threw on the borrowed clothing. The brown pants were a little big, but the belt took care of that. And the shirt was nearly a dress, but she tucked it into the pants, rolling up her sleeves and the bottoms of the pants so she wouldn't trip.

She quietly opened the door and snuck out, going back down the hall to where they had found the note, now currently folded and residing in her pocket. She began to scan the room for further clues of the kidnapper. Suddenly, her eyes found a note bound to a brick. She picked it up and began to untie the knot in the string attaching the two items together. Unfolding the paper, it said: 1485 Finnechi Ave.

Riley studied it for a moment before an idea sprang to her head. 'This must be the address Celia's being held at!' She thought. She tucked it into her pocket along with the other note. She recalled a map being at the front of the house, maybe this address was on it.

She quietly made her way to the entrance. As she entered, her eyes fell on the large map of the nearby area plastered to the wall, just as she suspected.

She took the paper out again, and began to look at the different street names.

'Let's see...Giuseppe avenue...Estanciole avenue...Vanico aven-ah! Finnechi Avenue!' She thought, her finger gracing over the street on the map. She then found the mansion (totally inconspicuous that it was in the EXACT CENTER),and began to think out her route. She then folded up the paper, and made her way out the door, letting it quietly shut closed.

XXX

"Lad?"

Tintin blankly gazed at the ceiling above him, not even knowing that the Captain was standing at his door.

"Lad?" The Captain tried again. Tintin shook himself out of his trance, and looked to the doorway.

"Yes, Captain? Sorry, did you say something?".

"Yea, can we talk for a mo'?" He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh. Um, I suppose so.". Tintin said, sitting up in bed and patting the area next to him.

"Good.". The Captain made his way over to the bed and sat down. "Is Riley alright?".

"Oh, not really. She was pretty upset. She kept convincing herself that this was all her fault, the poor thing." He said.

"Awe, poor lass.". He paused for a moment before speaking. "Listen, Tintin? Are you...i-in love with Riley?"

It took a moment before Tintin processed the words. He was then a bit taken aback "I-I'm sorry?"

"Sorry lad, but...it's just...i know that look, the one you give her, that is. Heck, I've worn that look, and its a surefire sign that you're in love my friend."

Tintin waited a moment, scratching the back of his head and avoiding eye contact with the Captain. "Weeeeeeell...ok. Yes, I do like her very much, but I would hardly say love, I mean, I've only known her for a few days-"

"Ahh, but have you heard of love at first sight boy-o?"

"I don't believe in such fairy tales.". Tintin said, his face going stoic, holding a cold stare on the Captain.

"Ah, well then my boy, how can you believe in love at all?".

Tintin thought about this for a moment. It did make sense, didn't it?

After a moment, the Captain said "Listen, I think you should go in there, and just be there for her, you know? Be her shoulder to cry on, at least until she calms down.". Putting his hand on Tintin's shoulder, he stood and made his way out of the room, but not before muttering a "Night." And something along the lines of "knew this ball was a bad idea" and "blistering barnacles".

Tintin blankly stared at the wall, thinking on what the Captain had said moments before. Maybe her should at least check on her? Yes, he should. He jumped out of bed and raced down the hallway towards her room. Catching his breath, he stood at the door and politely knocked.

"Riley?"

No answer.

"Riley, may I come in?"

Silence.

"Riley?"

This scared Tintin. Seeing as there was a kidnapping just hours before, he needed to make sure she was ok.

"Riley? I'm going to come in ok?"

After a moment, he realized that waiting for an answer was pointless. He turned the knob shot the door open. Riley was nowhere to be seen. The bed sheets were still ruffled, an imprint where she had laid. The bathroom was empty. Riley was nowhere to be found.

Tintin's breath started to hitch. He had to find her. He had to find her.

"CAPTAIN!"

XXX

Riley stood in front of the old rusty warehouse. She checked the address again from the paper in her pocket. 'Yup. 1485. This is it.'. She walked up to the front doors and gave an experimental tug, then a push, then a tug, then a harder push, but unfortunately, the door wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

She began to look around. Aha! A ladder. She hung on it for a moment to see if it would support her weight. After it didn't creak or budge, she placed her foot in the first rung. She climbed all the way to the top of the warehouse, the ground suddenly very far away. She shimmied on the small railing attached to the wall at the top of the ladder and made her way towards the window at the end. To her surprise, it opened with ease. She crouched down and crawled her way through, only faint light greeting her on the other side.

She was about to stand when she heard an unfamiliar voice. It was gruff and low, obviously belonging to a man, intertwined with some sort of Russian accent. Her eyes became wide , and she quickly crouched lower to the ground. She tried to make out what he was saying, but the echoes in the large building made it difficult to decipher. Then suddenly, a high pitched scream rang out and reverberated off of the walls of the warehouse. A thought shot to Riley's mind. 'Celia!'

She shot up from her crouch and frantically looked below her. On the lower floor were two men, one quite short with black hair shooting in all directions, looking as if he had just drank 40 gallons of coffee. The other was tall, auburn hair covering his head, standing in front of a a girl tied and gagged to a pole. That girl was Celia.

Alarms began to go off in Riley's mind. She had to take action. Now.

"CELIA!" She yelled out. Unfortunately, it was before she realized what she had done. She clasped her palm over her mouth. Why was she so stupid?

The men looked up at her, and a moment passed before the taller man pointed to her and uttered almost too quietly "Get her."

Before she knew it, Riley was running. She didn't know where, she was just going as fast as her legs could take her. Suddenly, she struck something. Hard.

She fell to the ground and saw the thick pole just as her vision went to black.

XXX

"I don't care! Get me Interpol! Get me the police! Get me ANYBODY, just get them here NOW!"

Tintin said into the phone, slamming I back down on the receiver. He then continued dressing, buttoning his shirt up, and haphazardly tucking his shirt into his pants.

"Lad, what's going on?" The Captain said, eyes wide from Tintin's outburst.

"Captain, Riley's gone. I don't know what happened to her, but the clothes in the closet are gone, and her night dress is on the ground." Tintin said, flustered as he gestured to the nightgown on the floor.

"Oh no! Do you have any idea what happened?" The Captain said, a surprised look on his face.

"Well, I have an idea." He said, a hand to his forehead.

"Well, let's hear it?"

"Well, seeing as she changed, and the letter from earlier is gone from her nightstand, I don't believe she was kidnapped. She must have gone looking for Celia. God, I'm and idiot! I should have told her to wait, or at least let me come with her." He sighed, squinting his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows.

"Ah lad, don't blame yourself, that won't fix anything. How can we fix it?"

"Well, I've already got the police. They should be here any moment. Then it's just the task of tracking her down."

"Ok, well let's get started."

XXX

"Ah, she's awake."

Riley heard a Russian voice pierce her consciousness. Her vision slowly blurred into focus as she squinted at the light, though quite low.

"W-what?"

Riley heard some muffled vocalizations to her right. She slowly turned her head to see Celia, bound and gagged as she had seen earlier, noticing that she herself was tied to the pole, only instead, she was not gagged.

"Hello young lady."

Riley returned her attention back to the man. "Who are you? What do you want from us?" Her voice began to rise slightly.

"Calm, girl. Calm. I am Gyser. And you, young lady, are Riley Chantley. Why do I know this? Because, I have been watching you young lady. You, your friend, and that little Tintin, his Captain friend, and most importantly, the scientist."

Riley blankly stared at him for a moment in shock. How?! This was insane. This couldn't be happening. Well, after all, more exceptional things had happened in the last few days.

"I figured, since you and your friend have...traveled from so far, you could easily grant me the secret?"

"We don't know the secret! We didn't mean to time travel!" Riley said, exasperated.

"Ah, yes I would figure that that would be the case. Which is why I also brought the scientist. Only one problem...he refuses to give us the secret." Gyser said, his fingers intertwining together.

"And...what does this have to do with us?" Riley said, feeling exhausted of the conversation, especially with the fact that it was pointless in itself. Or so it seemed.

"Well...I figured, 'who is closest to the professor?'and the answer was simple. Tintin. And he just seemed to fancy you oh so much at the ball-"

"WAIT? You were there?"

"Of course! Who do you think shot the gun, and kidnapped your friend? And that was the easy part. Your little friend here is so ditzy that when a handsome guy-" he pointed to himself at this statement "were to ask if she wanted to go outside and enjoy the 'night air', she would gladly oblige. And it was a domino effect from there. Obviously you would come looking for her, and obviously, Tintin would come after you." He said, gesturing to Celia, then to Riley.

"You're a snake!" Riley spat.

"Why thank you my dear! Now, only one thing is left to do...torcher you for some information." Gyser made his way to a tray full of razors held by the short black haired man, browsing them as if in a candy shop. "Ah, how about we start with this-" he picked a smaller razor from the bunch and turned on a switch, making the razor spin at top speed "and work our way up?" He chuckled to himself as he approached a scowling Riley, and a whimpering Celia.

The razor was just inches from her face when all of a sudden-

"Freeze! You are surrounded!"


	10. Chapter 10: Let's Get Outta Here

Both Riley and Celia took a breath of relief, as Tintin stood by the now barged down door. He held a handgun pointed at Gyser, a threatening glare in his eyes. Gyser smiled and put up his hands, a fake surrender silently translated in his eyes.

"Put it down...the razors...now." Tintin said.

"Well, who would've guessed the ginger would be so intimidating hm?"

"Just shut up and put it down." He said, waving the handgun as if in warning.

"You want me to put them down?" Gyser said, a glint in his eyes.

"Yes." Everyone could tell Tintin meant business.

"Ok. " Gyser set down the razor, replacing it to its former spot on the tray. He then grabbed a button, and pressing the circle in the middle, a coiled rope previously unseen by Tintin on the ground encircled his ankle. Tintin flew up into the air in one fluid motion. His gun slipped from his grips, and the small man ran over and made a grab for it.

"Ha ha. How's that Mr. Tintin. No gun. No help. No ESCAPE." Gyser said, a snicker creeping onto his face. Tintin's face fell. He looked broken, almost as if he were on the verge of tears.

"You walked right into my trap, didn't you Mr. Tintin?". Gyser continued. "Well, I knew you would. You are smart Mr. Tintin, but I was one step ahead. I stole your little girlfriend, who was easy enough to lure here by capturing her ditzy little friend. And I knew, having them in my possession, you would come valiantly to their rescue," he made his way to standing underneath the dangling Tintin, who stared daggers at him, "but only to be captured by me. And now, I plan to torcher you until you tell me your secret...the secret to time travel.". Tintin smiled. Gyser tilted his head in confusion. All of a sudden, spit flew from Tintin's mouth, and landed directly in Gyser's eye.

Riley and Celia's eyes widened. 'Oh, my, god.' Riley thought, a chuckle forming in her throat. Gyser slowly reached up a hand and wiped his eye in disgust. All he could see from Tintin was a smug smile, as if he hadn't done a thing in the world.

Gyser smiled back for a moment, then unexpectedly, swiped his palm hard across Tintin's face. Tintin's head jerked to the side, his face revealing a red hand print. Gyser walked away chuckling to himself.

"Oh yes. You are the greatest master planner aren't you?" Said Tintin, a fake defeat plastered to his face.

Gyser smiled. "Why, yes. Yes I am."

"Think you've got the last laugh."

"Hm...yes" he said, folding his hands behind his back.

"Well, think again." Tintin said, glaring at him.

"What do you mean?"

Tintin tore off shirt, revealing a small microphone taped to his chest. "Because this is a wire," police then busted down the doors and came in on all sides, "and these are police who just recorded every bit of what you said." He smirked. 'oh, the cleverness of him.' Thought Riley with a smile.

Gyser reluctantly threw up his hands, seeing as every barrel of every gun was on him at the moment. Two cops came up behind Gyser and his minion, both wearing bowler hats and sporting mustaches.

"You're going downtown my friend," said one.

"Well, to be precise, you're going to jail." Said the other. They secured their hands begin their backs and brought them out the door, but not before Gyser yelled "THIS ISN'T THE LAST YOU'LL SEE OF ME!"

Some police came behind Riley and Celia and undid their hands. They rubbed their wrists, trying to bring relief and continue circulation. They then looked at each other, Celia with apologetic eyes, and Riley with relief. They both laughed a breathy, relieved sigh, and came in to hug each other. They stayed that way until Tintin's voice broke the silence.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but could someone get me down?" Said Tintin, his shirt dropped to the ground, and still dangling from his ankle by the rope.

Riley chuckled and broke her hug with Celia. "I gotcha Gingy" she said, skipping over to him.

She couldn't help but be reminded of Peter Pan. The hair, no shirt, upside down (basically flying), it was all there. She came face to face with him.

"Are you gonna help me, or just stare at my bareness?" Tintin said uncomfortably, stuffing his hands under his armpits and crossing his arms.

Riley smiled, and grabbed his face. She closed her eyes and began to lean in once again as he-

"Ugh! Blech! Gross! *gag* ewe!" Gagging noises came from both the Captain and Celia, who were standing side by side, Celia having found Snowy and Calculus in the back room. Tintin and Riley chuckled, and Riley stuck out her tongue in defiance. She turned back to Tintin and smiled happily at him. Then unexpectedly, she leaned in and pecked his cheek. She backed up and again looked into his eyes.

"Let's get outta here" she said,chuckling.

"Agreed." Replied Tintin.

"Agreed" replied Celia and the Captain.

"Woah!" Barked Snowy, sending them into fits of laughter.


	11. The Kiss

They pulled up into the drive of marlinspike hall, Tintin at the wheel, Riley sitting next to him, still in her adventure clothing, and the Captain, Calculus, and Celia asleep on each others shoulders in the back seat, Snowy snoring softly on Celia's lap. Tintin put the car into park, leaned back in the seat, and sighed, throwing his hands in his lap and closing his eyes.  
Riley sighed as well, and put her temple to the seat head to watch Tintin. She watched him, breathing in and out, in and out, very slowly, as if cleansing himself of the events of the night. He looked so peaceful, she thought. She reached out and put her hand on his arm, patting it soothingly. He turned his head to look at her.  
"I'm so glad you're safe." He said, putting his hand on top of hers and squeezing it slightly, sentimentality swimming in his eyes. She stared at him for a moment, not responding. His smile began to fade, and his expression grew into one of concern. "What's the matter?" He asked.  
Riley hesitated before answering. "It's just..."  
"Just what?" Said Tintin.  
"I'm just..."  
"Just WHAT?!" Tintin said louder than usual.  
Riley put her first finger to her lips, as if the shush him.  
"I'm just...sorry." She said.  
Tintin looked at her for a moment. "For what?" He asked, obviously still puzzled.  
"For...everything. For leaving without telling you, for screwing everything up, for-"  
"Coming here in the first place?" Tintin finished, sadness welling up inside of him.  
"No." Said Riley, looking at him again, the soft blue and grey eyes meeting again. "That's the one thing I'm not sorry about."  
They looked at each other, their eyes not once breaking from each other. Tintin looked back. "I think this would be the only time they wouldn't gag if we kissed." He said. He then looked back at her, their eyes meeting again.  
"Yea, I think so." Riley said, distracted by his voice. His freckles. His eyes. His...everything.  
"Yeah." Tintin said, the same trance falling onto him. He started to feel a pull, like two magnets with a defined path of attraction. He cupped her cheeks, putting both of his hands on either side of his face, and tilted his head opposite of her, feeling the heat of her breath on his lips. Finally, their lips melded together, a spark surging through them. Riley melted into the kiss, her hands resting on his wrists, growing closer to him. One kiss formed into two, and two formed into three, and four, and five, until it became so much that they lost count.  
Finally, they stopped for the sake of air, closing their eyes and touching foreheads.  
"If I say something, would you laugh?" Tintin asked.  
"No, go ahead." She said.  
"I-I think...i-I think th-that I l-love you.". He said, barely above a whisper.  
Riley chuckled a breathy chuckle. "Y-you said you wouldn't laugh." He said, opening his eyes to look at her with a twinge of sadness in his expression.  
"No no no! No, I'm not laughing at you." She said reassuringly.  
"Then why are you laughing?" He said, beginning to chuckle as well.  
"Because, you just...you don't know how happy that makes me." She said, smiling the biggest, sweetest, happiest smile back at his big dopey, goofy one, and their lips crashed together again.  
"BLEEGCH!" They turned to see Celia and the Captain smirking at them.  
Tintin and Riley sighed, slightly chuckling, and then they all pulled the handle to get out of the car


	12. You Are My Amazing

"And this one here matches with that one there, and we'll put these here together, and we'll take that one with this one..." They listened mindlessly to the professor babble on as he put the glass shards from the clock on a table, trying to see which fits with which.  
Tintin was pacing in front of Riley and Celia, who were sitting on the bed facing the professor and the clock, and the captain was sitting on a loveseat next to the fireplace and mantle where the clock was sitting.  
After a moment, Riley spoke. "Tintin, stop pacing like that, you're going to get dizzy going back and forth so much."  
"I'm sorry." He said. "I just hope it works so that you two can-" he stopped mid sentence, a realization hitting him.  
"We caaaan...?" Celia waved her hand in a circular motion, urging him to go on.  
"So you can...go home." He finished sadly, not looking at them, but out the window to the garden. No one spoke for a moment after that (not even the babbling professor). Riley got up from her seat to go to where Tintin was. She looked out the window to the garden, which she noticed was the same garden as the one she had seen in the future. She put her arm around Tintin's shoulder and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, I've always thought that garden was so beautiful. I like to take walks through there, it clears my mind." He said to her, in a quieter voice.  
Riley patted his arm and looked up at him. "Do you want to talk for a sec?" Riley asked. "You seem like you've got something on your mind."  
"Sure, follow me." He said, leading her out of the room and into the one next door, which was a study. Riley suspected that this was most likely wrote his articles. On the right side of the door against the front wall was a desk with a plethora of drawers, and papers were scattered across the top of the desk.  
Tintin closed the door behind him and walked to Riley, who was now standing at the window. "You seemed so sad, is there something you wanted to-" he cut her sentence short.  
"Don't go.". He said, his eyes downcast, not looking at her.  
"What?" Riley said after a moment.  
"Don't leave me. Please." He said, looking up to meet her eyes.  
"Tintin, I don't think tha-"  
"Please, hear me out." He cut her off again. She nodded and urged him to continue. "That night on the balcony, when it was just you and me, I realized something." He stepped closer to her, and took her hands in his. "I realized, I've found someone who I can open up to, who I can trust, who trusts me. I've found someone who actually...actually, loves me." He moved his hands to her face, to hold each side, and he brought her forehead to touch his. "And I love you." He said. He tilted his head, and brought his lips to hers. He kissed her sweetly, almost sadly, as if he were savoring the moment, as if the moment would never come back.  
"Tintin," Riley broke the kiss, pulling his face back to look at her. "you just met me. I've only known you for a couple days, this is crazy-"  
"Exactly! That's why it works! Riley, I never believed in love before, let alone love at first sight, but you changed that! And I know..." He paused.  
"Know what?" Riley asked.  
"I know, that if you leave me...love will never come back to me." His eyes dropped to the floor.  
"Don't be ridiculous, of course you'll find someone else! You're the sweetest, most kind boy I've ever met. You make me feel good about myself, and you make me happy, and make me feel so...so...oh my god" she paused for a moment.  
"What? What is it?" Tintin asked, somewhat concerned.  
"You make me feel...loved. For once in my life, someone loves me." She said, her brain calculating this all at once.  
"Exactly!" Tintin said, leaning in to kiss her again, but Riley pulled back, pulling her hands from his.  
"No, no, as amazing as you are...I...I need to let you meet someone just as amazing-"  
"You are my amazing!" He raised his voice, but not quite to a yell.  
"No, Tintin!" She said matching his level. "I'm sorry, but you know I have to go back.". She said, opening her arms and giving him a hug. He returned it, and rested his head on hers. As they hugged, they looked out the window to the garden, the same that they saw in the other room.  
"I want to be buried in that garden. It's so peaceful that any dead man could rest for eternity." Tintin said, in a soft voice, almost to a whisper.  
"Riley was about to answer when the Captain came bursting through the door. "He's finished! He finished th- oh...do...uh...do you two want to be alone...ooooor-"  
"No it's quite alright Captain" Tintin said, cutting him off. "I believe we have everything sorted out.". He looked at her with a sad, yet content expression. They then followed the Captain quickly out of the room  
XXX  
"Viola! The clock is all fixed!" Professor Calculus stepped out of the way to reveal the clock, looking as good as new, and hardly a crack or scratch to be found.  
"Wow! Fantastic job professor!" Said Riley.  
"And I've enhanced the glass, making it impossible to break!" He continued. "Now, the way it works. Only the people in this room will be transported, the clock sees walls as barriers. So only Riley and Celia can be in this room. Luckily, we can leave doors open as well, because the clock will automatically detect that as an extension of the wall, following along the lines of the wall, so it will not come out to us."  
"Excellent!" Said Celia. She walked over to Riley, "Well Riley...I think it's time to say goodbye."  
"Right," said Riley, somewhat in a daze. "Goodbyes."  
They walked up to the Professor first. "Thank you so much for your help professor." Said Riley.  
"We couldn't have done it without you." Said Celia. One after the other, they gave him a hug.  
"Oh, well, I think fig stew sounds nice, I'll go make some!" He said, leaving the room and disappearing from view. They all chuckled. They then walked up to Captain Haddock.  
Celia was the first to hug him, throwing a big bear hug around his shoulders. "Thank you for letting us stay at your big fancy mansion Captain!" She said, releasing his shoulders.  
"Ah, no problem lass. Happy to help." He replied happily.  
Riley then walked up to him and gave him a hug, which he happily returned. "Thank you...for everything." She said.  
"You're welcome lass. And, just for the record," he lowered his voice to nearly a whisper, "You make Tintin the happiest I've seen him. So thank you." He smiled and released her from the hug, winking as she turned to face Celia. When she faced her, Celia had Snowy in her arms.  
"I'm gonna miss you SO MUCH!" She said to the small dog, hugging him close to her chest as he licked her face.  
"Celia, don't squeeze the living crap out if him, you'll break him." Riley said chuckling. Celia then handed her the small dog, who licked her face as well. Riley chuckled, "I'm gonna miss you too Snowy!". She then set him gently on the ground, and patted his head. "Good boy." She said.  
They both then turned to Tintin, who had half of a smile on his face. Celia ran up to him and gave him a huge, gripping hug. One of which, he almost couldn't breath.  
"We'll miss you so much Tintin! And thank you for all your help..." She said, leaning back to look at him with an air-head expression. "...oh! And saving me!" She said, chuckling a little.  
"You're quite welcome Celia." He said, returning the hug, then releasing her. "It was quite the adventure!"  
"That it was!" She replied.  
Tintin then turned his attention to Riley, who wasn't really looking at him, but to the side. He slowly walked up to her and gave her a gentle hug, resting his head on hers.  
"I...I don't want it to be over." Riley said, a single tear slipping down her cheek.  
"Then why don't I go with you?" Tintin asked.  
"No, no you have too much to accomplish here." She said. There was a moment of comfortable silence before Tintin spoke again.  
"I suppose it's time." He said.  
"Yeah." They then broke off their hug and Tintin began going out the door. From the hallway, he turned back to the room to look at them through the doorway.  
"Ready?" Celia asked Riley.  
"Ready." Riley said, nodding to Celia. Riley put her thumb on the button and pushed it in, proving much easier to push now than before. It began to tick, slowly like before, but getting faster.  
Riley and Celia turned to look at them. Red began to tint the room.  
"Wait!" Yelled Tintin. He ran inside and up to Riley.  
"Lad, what are you doing?!" Shouted the Captain.  
"Tintin! You're gonna ge-" Riley was cut off by Tintin's lips crashing into hers. He kissed her with all of his heart, and then broke the kiss, just as quickly as it had started. Before she could say anything, he ran out of the room and back into the hallway. Riley tried to look where he had gone, but things began to spiral and spin. The ticking began to take up her brain capacity, loud and booming like no other sounds were present. The floor began to break away piece by piece until it reached Riley and Celia. They began to fall, through nothingness, down and down and down, through emptiness. Until *Thump* they landed on solid ground.  
XXX  
Riley and Celia sat up, holding their heads, bracing for the head rush of a lifetime. Riley looked around at the room. There were newspapers hung up in frames, a window seat, a desk, everything was the way it was. Well, everything except for the fact that the velvet rope had been knocked over. The sun was right where it had been when they left, meaning that no time had passed. Riley slowly stood up and helped Celia up too. "We'd better catch up to the class, don't you think?" Said Celia.  
"Oh...yea..." Said Riley, her mind seemingly occupied elsewhere.  
"Well c'mon let's go!" Celia said, taking her arm, pulling Riley out of her daze, and running out of the room.  
XXX  
When they had finally caught up with the class, they were in the corridor to go outside.  
"...quite like the basement, in which Tintin and Captain Haddock hid over 30 Jews during World War II." Lillian said, finishing a sentence.  
"Wow, did you hear that Riles? They were heroes!" Celia said excitedly.  
"That's...that's awesome!" Said Riley, thinking about how amazing Tintin and Haddock really were.  
"And now we get to the garden." Said Lillian, stopping just at the entrance. "Now, before we go in, does anyone know anything about this garden?"  
Riley raised her hand slowly.  
"Why, yes! Riley! Go ahead."  
"Um...Tintin, he liked it." She paused for a moment. "He...he liked to walk through it, and he liked to walk Snowy in it...and" everyone looked at her strangely, seeing as Riley doesn't speak often and rarely likes to raise her hand. "And...he said he wants to be buried in it because it's so peaceful that any dead man could rest for eternity...and, um...that's all." She trailed off to nearly a whisper.  
A moment of awkward silence and astonishment passed before Lillian continued.  
"Well, that's very good Riley." She nodded and smiled in her direction. "In fact," she began to walk and talk again, "that is exactly what happened. Tintin got his wishes and rests here peacefully to this da-"  
"What!?" Riley said rather loudly, stopping Lillian halfway through her sentence. Lillian turned around, somewhat shocked, to face Riley.  
"Why, yes. He died three years ago. He was 98." She said. Riley was stone faced. She couldn't answer. She couldn't think. She couldn't even feel Celia's hand rubbing her back, or that tear slip down her cheek. She was completely, and utterly, numb. "He lived a long and happy life." Lillian said in a soothing tone, trying to console her. After a moment everyone began to walk further into the garden, but Riley couldn't move. She could barely even breath.  
"Riles? You wanna sit?" Celia said, referring to a bench behind them. Celia didn't expect an answer, so she just gently lead her backwards to take a seat.  
Riley slowly turned to look at her, her eyes glistening with tears.  
"...You ok?" Celia asked.  
"No. No I'm not..." Riley said, sniffling. "It...it hurts so bad" tears began to cone faster and faster. Celia wrapped her arms around her,and hugged her, rubbing her back as a sob racked Riley's body.  
"It's alright Riley," Celia said, "I'm here for you."  
Riley took a deep breath and removed herself from Celia's hug. She wiped her eyes and chuckled, "You are always there for me, aren't you?"  
"Of course!" Celia said, chuckling as well.  
"Thanks Celia. You're the best friend I could ever have." Riley said, smiling at her.  
Celia stood up, "well, why don't we go catch up, huh?"  
Riley stood up as well, "Alright, sure.". At this they quickly walked down the path to catch up to the class, who were standing around a large headstone. As the class began to file out into another section of the garden, Riley and Celia stooped down in front of the headstone.  
It read  
 _ **Tintin**_  
 _ **Renowned Journalist and Friend**_  
 _ **A Man Loved By All, But Whom Loved Only One**_  
 _ **Forever In Peace Shall He Be**_  
Riley and Celia were quite for a moment, before Celia spoke, "Do you think that _**"One"**_ means-"  
"Yes." Riley said, already knowing what she was going to say. A silence befell on them again, but a comfortable one. Riley gently touched the headstone, giving a quiet thank you. Celia picked a white rose off of a bush next to her and handed it to Riley.  
"For respect," Celia said, "Y'know?"  
Riley grabbed it from Celia and looked at it. "Thanks, Ciels." She said. She brought it to her mouth and gently kissed it, then set it down atop the ground in front of the stone slab.  
"C'mon, Riles," Celia slung her arm around Riley's shoulders. "Let's go have another adventure!"  
"You said it girl!" Riley replied, standing with Celia, and happily made their way down the path.  
XXX  
Up in Tintin's room, it was quiet. It was a quiet that filled up the space in the room. A quiet, that seemed to be so loud, that you could hear nothing but the quiet...  
...that is until you heard...  
 _ **Tick**_.  
XXX  
Hey guys! So? It's finally finished! But...this isn't the end! Of course, I may need to take a short break between this and the sequel because I have some other updates and one shots to update for you all, but don't worry! I'll put a little preview in a bit as an extra chapter in this book, so stay tuned for that. So, go ahead and tell me how you liked this book, and or last chapter, or if you hated it, I'll hear that too. As I've said, I live on feedback, so I would love to hear your opinions. Also, if you think the story should've ended differently, how do you think it should have ended? Go ahead and tell me in that comment box! Thanks for sticking with this story guys!


	13. Sequel Preview

Hey guys! It's finally here!!! I hope I didn't leave you guys waiting for too long. Now, without further a-do, the sequel preview...

Lillian Haddock sat behind the front desk of the greeting counter in the front foyer of Marlinspike Hall, book in hand. She had been reading said book for 3 weeks now, and was nearly halfway through. It was a non-fiction about the history of folklore in Europe, and it was getting quite interesting.

She was completely enthralled in a section about Scotland's potion-making, when she heard a rather loud thump from upstairs. This was peculiar, she thought, because there had been no tours that day, and the main caretaker was on vacation in Italy for his daughter's wedding.

She decided that it was probably just her imagination, seeing as she was already on edge from being the only one there that day. She returned her attention back to her book, interested to hear more about dogweed potions of Scotland.

She was right in the middle of a sentence when she heard a yell. It sounded like a man's s scream. This really set her off. She marked her book page and stepped out from behind the counter. She grabbed a flashlight (just in case she had to defend herself), and began to scale the stairs.

"Hello?" She called out, getting closer to the top. She paused at the landing, listening for any kind of movement.

All was silent, and she was just about to head back down the stairs and blame it on her nerves, until she heard a small woof come from Tintin's old room.

She slowly walked towards the closed door, bringing the flashlight up in preparation.

"Hello?" She called again. She inched slowly towards the door, putting her hand on the doorknob. She slowly turned the knob, pushing the door inwards so little that you could barely see through the crack she had created.

She leaned into the crack and said, "Listen, come out and show yourself or I'm calling the cops." Her voice and hands were shaking, but her tone was stern. She waited a moment for a response, but it was no use.

"I-if you don't come out, I'll kick the d-door down." She said, stepping back and squaring herself with he door frame. "I'm going to count to three!" She warned.

"1...!" She gripped the flashlight a bit tighter.

"2...!" She put some weight on her back foot, preparing to karate kick the door.

"3!" She kicked the door as hard as she could, and it flew open. Inside the room, there stood a young man with red hair, with a small white dog in his arms, and next to him, a man with black hair and a black beard. They had shock stricken expressions, much like Lillian's.

"Please Miss, we don't mean you any ha-"

"You're...Y-y-you're...". She pointed at the red head with a shaky finger. "A-a-and you're..." she then pointed to the older man with dark hair.

"Yes, yes, I'm Tintin, and this is Captain Haddock. Now listen, we're not here to-"

With that, she fainted with a gasp of fear, and fell limp to the ground.

For a moment, they looked at her, staring in shock and awe.

"Wow..." the Captain began, "good job lad. You killed her."

"Did not!" The red head retorted, his eyebrows laced together with worry.

"...Did I?"


End file.
